


double trouble (alluka + nanika week)

by millagross



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-31 04:36:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20109253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/millagross/pseuds/millagross
Summary: various adventures of alluka and nanika as they navigate the world and themselves. written for @allukananika-week on tumblr!





	double trouble (alluka + nanika week)

It was at an outdoor market, quite tiny and very wilting, but for Nanika the camellia bush was love at first sight. Again, for Nanika. Killua had no time or space to grow much, and Alluka was more enthused by things that could, well, move. The plant was only 400 or so Jenny, and Nanika wouldn't get over her fascination with it any time soon though, so home the bush went. 

Well, as 'home' as you could call Killua and Alluka's tent-of-sorts. In theory, they could afford a house, and a good house at that, but for the time being the two were nomadic. It had been quite...jarring for Alluka to go from the room she'd been locked for years to seeing half of the world in months, but with every new thing or experience, she seemed to gain this energy about her, a curious fire way down in her stomach that longed for more and more, more adventures, and more danger, and just more...fun. 

Nanika, however, was not the same. The girl was so frightened, so timid, and it wasn't something Alluka was annoyed with, and she quite understood, but...it was difficult to put into words. Alluka was not a scholar nor a psychologist, though. There was much she had to figure out, about everything really, about the world and her family and herself-so Nanika was as much as an enigma to Alluka as she was to the rest of humanity. And for the life of her, Alluka had no idea why Nanika wanted a garden. 

Her request had no preface-it was very upfront, and Alluka couldn't exactly deny her, but they simply had nowhere to grow it. Gardening wasn't something she was particularly interested in anyways, either. Nanika, however, insisted that her camellia bush, which was growing at an impressive rate, needed somewhere more than the pot it had been bought in. Alluka relayed this to Killua, who, in a moment of ingenuity, suggested about the most nonsensical thing either of his sisters had ever heard. 

"What the hell is a traveling garden?" 

"Well, like," Killua rebuffed, "It's not an actual thing, more like I came up with it. Just now. I mean, like, if we're gonna be moving around a lot, and Nanika wants a place to like, keep her plant or whatever, then we can take it with us! Maybe I'll get a wagon or something…"

Alluka was still skeptical of the idea, and again, gardening was not her niche, but Nanika was so overjoyed she posed no objections, and at the very least, seeing Killua struggle to construct the thing would be fun. 

"Wait, Alluka, where'd you learn 'hell' from!?"

About a week later, with Killua still trying (and failing) to make the garden-on-wheels, the two were in some other town on a grocery hunt. It was early springtime-trees made up of flowers dotted the whole stretch of sidewalk, the light was not the languid and lazy rays of summer, but curious and fleeting, and one could not walk a short distance without encountering some newborn bug or creature. 

Alluka had drifted into some pop-up flower shop, and at Nanika's behest, snooped around for a short while. It was very small, and very homely; vines draped about the walls, and Alluka walked face first into a bush every couple of minutes, it seemed. 

Alluka was drawn to a small pot in the back, one which contained two fat rose buds, and from the care card stuck in the soil, they would be many petaled and white. Nanika wanted it desperately, and like before, Alluka had no choice but to give in. They already had a plant anyways, and it was growing hearty, so another one couldn't hurt, right? Well, that was Nanika talking. Alluka wouldn't mind either way, but space was still an issue…

At the front desk, Alluka eyed a small display of mosses, seated next to a small fountain in the shape of a calico cat. The young woman working there was kind enough, wrapping the rose up in a curly bow, and making small talk with Alluka as she did so. 

"A white rose...very nice! You know, in the flower language, these mean innocence...think it fits you a lot, cutie! Oh, and well, secrecy too, you know, but I don't think that's very accurate, haha!"  
Maybe more than the woman would think...however, Alluka was curious.  
"Flower language?"  
"Oh yes! Each flower has a different message, here, we have a little guide if you want, only a couple hundred jenny…"

Alluka hummed in response; she liked the idea of flowers having meanings. Though not the most esoteric, she found trivial things like that a joy, and reached into her small pink purse to fork the money over. While she was contemplating this, the woman had kept on prattling-maybe it was part of her job.

"These types are so lovely! Sometimes we have others of this type in pink and orange, very nice." "Oh, really? Kinda like a sunset…"  
"Yes! If you want to come back when we're in stock you could-"

"Sorry, I'm, well, we're just here on a pit stop, but thank you anyways!" Was there any worse feeling than to disappoint?

The clerk didn't appear to mind, though. "Well, If you're ever around these parts again, don't hesitate to drop by! We're open all week." 

Alluka nodded, though she probably wouldn't remember in several days. Nanika was better at things like that, and without even reminders had a quick and imprinting mind-she usually was the one to keep up with things. 

When Killua had seen her next, with a new plant and book in tow, he let out a mock cry of anguish. "We're not going to have anywhere to put this…"  
Alluka was only mildly amused by her Onii-san's antics. "Maybe you can make a traveling library too. And speaking of that, how's the current project going?"   
"Ah, well, it's...going ok. I made a frame! Or like, a blueprint of a frame."  
Killua was getting frazzled; there were mild cracks in his demeanor.  
"You know...Nanika told me that if you ever needed help, it would be alright to ask…"  
"No, no! It's like, fine! Think of it as like, a gift or something! It's nice to be doing something anyways." The way he talked…

Things were clearer to Alluka now-her brother was..bored? She didn't quite understand it; the two of them had anything but a stagnant life ever since they went off together, but she had noticed that there was some sort of distance to him more recently. Now that the two weren't with the family anymore, maybe the freedom had…? 

She heard Nanika's soft inflection in the back of her mind.  
"Maybe his friend. Gon. They used to do much together?"

Well, it could've...Nanika was very in tune to everything about her, and this was a quality Alluka admired greatly. She couldn't think of the first way to bring her brother any comfort, but simply shrugged and said, "Well, if you insist. But...we're there for you."

Later upon the motel bed, Alluka skimmed the pages of the book the flower shop had offered her. It was yellowing, and smelled rather dusty, but she found a great fascination for it. There was a little note in the front, a 'This book belongs to,' and the rest was so old that Alluka couldn't decipher it. In some pages, there were flower pressings corresponding to the ones listed-when she was done reading an entry, she tucked it gently back into the page. When at the end (and she planned to reread it multiple times that night) she found a quite interesting entry, and from what she'd seen earlier and Nanika's advice...she had been stumped on Killua's predicament but...was the flower shop still open?

Killua found a variety assortment of flowers on his pillow an hour or so later, which Nanika proudly told him were zinnias. Alluka might've smiled, but he couldn't have been sure. 

Alluka could feel Nanika's thrum of excitement the day the traveling contraption had been completed. (It was the last day for them in the town too.) The traveling garden, as it was dubbed, was as big as her, Nanika, and Killua lying down together, and several feet deep, per Nanika's request so she could grow taprooted things. There were beams on each side to bind it all together, and filled to the brim with rich soil Nanika had found in a peat somewhere. The entire strange invention floated on wheels, and surprisingly, was not heavy to drag along. Killua had made a separate sector, devoid of dirt, for the two of them to put their bags and other belongings, as well as gardening supplies, within. In all, both Alluka and Nanika adored it. 

To christen the thing, and to commemorate its building, Alluka had picked up something in town. It was easy to type flowers now, with Nanika ever reminding her, and the book was a great help too. It had a meaning she had liked quite a bit, and one she had been thinking of for a while.

"Nanika," she started, "I have a gift for you."   
She could feel a stirring within her, and Nanika's piqued curiosity. 

Out of a small plastic bag, she produced a small carton sect. Within it was a single stemmed white violet. There was a rush of warm delight then, both from her and Nanika. "I love it! I love Alluka!" 

The violet was the first to be planted, following with the multitude of plants they had been juggling to hold on to went next. Killua had added something too, several bulbs of yellow tulips planted at each corner. Nanika put dividers made of small wooden sticks into the dirt to break up the different flower types. Alluka may have had high expectations, because when the whole process was said and done it looked...underwhelming. Nanika had sensed her apprehension, but only hummed in response. 

"That's how it's supposed to be, I think. It'll grow."   
Though Nanika couldn't see it, Alluka grinned, and hitched up the wagon to set out back onto the road. Yeah. It'll grow.

**Author's Note:**

> camellia (no color)-admiration/perfection  
rose (white)-innocence and secrecy   
tulip (yellow)-theres sunshine in your smile  
zinnia (mixed colors)-thinking (or in memory of) an absent friend  
violet (white)-let's take a chance on happiness


End file.
